The Untold Story From A Hogwart's Student Pt II
by Marner
Summary: This is my account of what happened in Hogwarts during my second year. There is a first part to this. In Porgress!
1. Writers Opening Note II

Okay, I'm sure some of you know who I am by now. My name is Marina Goldfield, and I used to be a Hogwarts student. I hope most of you reading this second part have read the first story. If not, then shame on you! You should read the first story before you read the second one; it'll help in understanding the characters a bit.

If you have read the first story then you know that I had been living in an orphanage. Professor Snape came all the way down to America just to make sure I got the acceptance letter! I was more than amazed when I heard the news and decided that it would be best to go. After all anything is better than living with Miss Fingles.

I made several good friends while having been at Hogwarts. It was an interesting year. We found ways to get into plenty of trouble. I even ended up saving one of my friends. Of course, Harry got the fame for the first time that year. He had saved the school from Voldermort, and protected the Sorcerer's stone. You'd be amazed at how fast gossip spreads around that school.

Sadly, I ended up having to go back to the orphanage with Miss Fingles. The summer wasn't perfect, but I had become more popular. Several of the kids continued to ask me questions about where I'd been and why I left. Several of them became exceedingly jealous, but a few were far too interested and nosy for their own good. They wanted to know everything, and would continually spy on me, and try to read my letters to! Luckily I always had one up on them.

I did feel bad for this one little girl though. She was knew to the orphanage and terrified. I was told she had been screaming and crying for the first few days she'd been there. Now she merely cried at night and kept to herself. I wanted her to feel better and more relaxed so I told her, and only her, about what I was. She thought it was amazing and hung onto my every word! I was happy that she was happy.

I also did perform some magic to keep her happy. I know the law that 'no underage wizards can not perform magic', and there is an explanation for why I was able to do it. It will be explained later in the story, more towards the end.

That was my summer, and school was starting up again. I was looking forward to going back, actually I was ecstatic! My only regret was that I'd be leaving her behind, the little girl. I decided to give her a farewell present before I made my way to England. Of course, Miss Fingles refused to see me happy, and was going to try to keep me from going back.

I should warn you; this story is a bit darker than the last one. This story also truly shows me and my friend's different view points about life, and of course there is Harry Potter and his accomplishments. I still haven't become one his best friends, but gossip still manages to find it way into the hallways of Hogwarts. I am anxious to get to work on my first chapter in my part II story of The Untold Story From A Hogwart's Student.


	2. Kelly

Late that evening I was holding Draco's letter in my hand. Sherbert, my kitten had grown over the summer as well. She rested on the wooden ground asleep. I was surprised that he sent me anything over the summer. I think it was to brag that he had a plan on getting on the Slytherin Quidditch team. I folded it up quickly and placed it inside the envelope. I looked at my flimsy calendar; it was nearly time for my acceptance letter to be delivered by an owl.

I heard the floor boards creaking in the hallway. I knew to be on my toes anytime I heard that sound. It was either Miss Figngles, or one of the other kids hoping to find out my secret. I lifted the mattress up a little and placed the envelope inside the tiny hole. I quickly lay on my back and pulled up the covers pretending to be asleep.

My door creaked open, and I closed my eyes tightly. I heard tiny footsteps walking towards me. The only other person who would come into my room this late in the evening would be Kelly; the youngest and newest orphan in this place. I couldn't tell for sure, so I continued to pretend to be asleep. The footsteps came closer then stopped. I waited to see what would happen.

"Wake up," Kelly whispered nudging me slightly. I smiled as she continued to shake me.

I decided to tease her a little, and rolled over onto my side. Kelly continued to shake me, and then paused slightly. She crawled on the bed and nudged me slightly. She stretched out her body beside mine.

"What's wrong with you tonight?" Kelly asked in a low voice.

I giggled and opened my eyes. I smiled at her. She long curly dirty blonde hair. She had light brown eyes, and was at the age of 6. She had a tendency to act a bit older than age at times, but still had that sparkle in her eyes on a child. She was still dressed in her nightgown, and held her dirty teddy bear close to her.

"How are you?" I asked smiling.

"I'm fine," she whispered. "What are we going to do tonight?" She asked excitedly.

"Are you sure we were going to do something tonight?" I asked teasingly.

"Please," she pleaded.

"All right," I said", let's go."

We made our way through the wooden hallway quietly. The hardest part was walking by Miss Fingles room. I had an idea of something to do as a farewell gift. I was inspired by the movie _Beetle Juice_ movie that I managed to see over the summer. I snuck into Miss Fingles room several times and watched her mini-television set.

I had read in one of the spell books about it. I practiced it several times in private. I had nearly gotten caught a few times by snooping people. I just hoped it would work, and that I wouldn't end up making a fool of myself. I kept in mind that I'd have to ask Rema Traussle about why I was able to get away with doing magic underage, and the others couldn't.

We walked down the cheaply carpeted steps and entered the hallway, or so we called it. We walked down the end of the hall and opened the door on our left. Kelly walked in first. I glanced around to make sure no one was following us, and then walked in after her.

"We're safe," I whispered in relief.

I lifted her up and set her on top of the counter. She smiled gleefully. It was very much a secret for both me and her. I just hoped I wasn't doing something wrong by having told her about it. I had to do something to cheer her up, or I would have regretted it for rest of my life.

"Do you have the candy?" She asked.

"Maybe," I said", let me check."

I began searching through my pockets knowing full well where it was. I just wanted to build up the suspense. I pulled out the back from jeans pocket and opened the large box. It was filled with multi colored jelly beans that were of every flavor. She had more luck, at picking out good ones, than I was.

"How come you never wear sleep clothes like the rest of us?" She asked taking on the Beatrie Bot Beans and eating it.

"Just in case I have to leave, or get kicked out," I replied. "It never hurts to be prepared."

"Oh," Kelly responded eating another one. "If you get kicked out what'll happen to your pet?" She asked.

"Well," I said straightening myself. "If you promise to take really good care of her, I'll let you keep her while I'm away."

"Really?" She asked joyfully. I nodded and she smiled. She picked out another jelly bean and began to eat it.

"What flavor is that one?" I asked pulling my wand out.

"I think its chocolate cupcake," she said.

"May I?" I asked her. She nodded and I placed my hand inside the box and pulled one out. "Look's harmless," I said and placed it in my mouth. I shivered at the taste of boogers, which made her laugh. "Shhh," I said placing a finger to my mouth.

She clapped her hands over her mouth to try and make the giggle's stop.

"Accio chair," I muttered under my breath and the nearest chair moved forwards. I was forced to sit as it gently hit the back of my legs.

"Wow," Kelly whispered in amazement. "I wish I could do that," she muttered.

I didn't want to say anything, just in case she wasn't a witch. I didn't want to be the one to crush her dreams at such a young age. I decided redirected her attention. I made a few dishes move slightly.

"I'm going to try something," I said", but I'm not sure if it'll work."

I loved doing things. It not only gave me practice but it also entertained her. I needed all the practice, especially if I was going to do better in this upcoming year at Hogwarts. I pulled a doll out of my pocket and placed on beside Kelly on the counter.

"Wingardium Leviosa," I said and with a flick of my wrist the doll floated upwards into the air. "Tarantallegra," I said.

The doll's legs began to dance elegantly. She moved like a ballerina around the counter. I smiled and was surprised that it worked on objects as well as humans. Kelly was more than amazed; she watched the tiny doll dance uncontrollably. I stood up and walked over to the small radio. I turned it on and the song _Jump the Line _by _Harry Belafonte _came on.

I tapped my foot to the beat of it. Kelly jumped off and began dancing around the kitchen joyfully. I held her hands we danced around the kitchen. I stopped paying attention to my settings. The dishes had also begun to move slightly, in their own form of dance. Some of the food from the fridge was dancing, both inside the fridge and outside.

I glanced at the counter and finally noticed it. Kelly giggled when she saw it, but I was slightly worried. The dishes spun around, the containers lids were opening and closing, as where the doors to the cupboards. I turned when I heard the door open, and everything else stopped. The dished fell, a few broke, and the lids stopped moving as well as the tiny doors, and the food outside the fridge fell on the floor.

"Well," Tara said", don't stop on my account."

"What are you doing out of bed?" I asked.

"I heard you two sneaking out and wondered what was going on," she said walking into the kitchen. "I knew you where hiding something." She had short curly black hair. She had just turned eleven a few days ago.

I just stood there staring at her. I had no idea what to do. I was in enough trouble for telling Kelly what I was.

"You don't have to worry," she said", you're secrets safe me."

"What is going on in here?" Miss Fingles asked turning on the lights. "Marina Goldfield,' she said smirking", I should have known." She glanced around the kitchen. "Tara and Kelly go off to your rooms," she demanded", now."

She watched the two girls leave and walked closer towards me. She noticed the dancing doll and smirked. "Clean up this mess," Miss Fingles said maliciously. She caught the doll in her hands and held it firmly. The doll continued to move in her grasp. "You're not going back to that school, not while you live here."

She took a few steps from me and opened a drawer and pulled out the small hammer. She placed the doll and her back and crushed it with the hammer. The doll stopped moving as if it had died.

"Get to work," she said and walked out of the kitchen.

I gathered the parts of the doll first and held it in my hand. "Maybe I won't live here anymore then," I muttered to the broken doll.

I spent the rest of my evening cleaning out the kitchen. I was nearly done when I heard something tapping at the window. I put the broom down and over to the window. I saw an owl holding an envelope in its mouth. I opened the window and the bird flew off. I opened the letter and smiled, it was my acceptance letter from Hogwarts.


	3. Leaving the Orphanage

I yawned from the late night work. I had gotten most of it done. I leaned against the broom and remorsefully. I turned my head nearly snapping when I heard another tapping at the window. I saw another owl, only this one was a snowy owl. I placed the broom against the table and walked over to the window. I opened it and the owl moved onto the window sill. The owl dropped a letter in my hand and turned to fly off. I glanced down at it curiously and quickly turned it over to read the letter.

_Dear Hogwart's student,_

_We are informed that you are having problems getting to the __necessary placed for your educational needs. Therefore we are going to send someone to come and get you. He should be there by one o'clock. Please be packed and ready to leave by then. He'll be waiting by the front door._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"How in the world did he find out so fast?" I asked myself out loud.

I shrugged my shoulders and folded the letter up and placed back inside the envelope. I quickly rushed off to my bedroom and began packing the few things that I had taken out. It took me only a few minutes to get it finished. I scratched Sherbert's chin. I knew I wasn't doing too good a job at taking care of her, so I decided to leave her behind. I knew that Kelly would provide her a good home.

I opened my door slightly and peeked through the hallway. After noticing that it was all clear I quietly made my way towards the stairs. I tip toes past Miss Fingles room, luckily she was snoring. I quickly got down the stairs making limited noise and walked towards the main office. I took a deep breath and walked by the white painted walls. I carefully opened the door that would lead me into the main office only to have it forced shut by someone behind me. I glanced up and noticed Miss Fingles glaring down at me.

"Where do you think you're going darling?" She asked sarcastically.

"Out," was the only response I could think of.

"No you are no," Miss Fingles said demandingly. "Now go up to your room and stay there."

Without thinking I pulled out my wand and pointed it at her. "You can't force me to do anything," I said bitterly.

"Like I'm afraid of some snot nosed brat," Miss Fingles began but was interrupted when the door opened.

I was relieved to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway. I quickly hide my wand, just in case. He walked into the hallway with another man behind him. He looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out where I'd seen him before. Then Draco stepped out from behind him, and I knew he was his father. I had only seen him once before briefly.

"What is all this?" Miss Fingles asked. "You brought back up with you this time."

"Witnesses," Snape responded.

"C'mon," Draco told me.

I nodded and followed him out of the hallway leaving Miss FIngles alone with Severus Snape and Draco's father. I carried my suitcase with me gladly. Before the door closed I heard them arguing. Draco turned to glance at me. I recognized his usual sneer.

"So," he began", this is where you live."

"For now," I replied. "Was that your father with you?" I asked.

Draco nodded.

"Why is he here exactly?" I asked confused.

"Well, he's on the Hogwart's School Board of Governor's. One of the members had to come and make sure you made it to school in one piece," Draco replied.

I smiled and hugged Draco. "Thank you." I whispered.

After a few seconds Draco pushed me off gently. "Remember you're a Gryffindor and I'm in Slytherin." He said pretending to be disgusted.

"Oh sorry," I replied.

"Why did you come then?" I asked.

"Because I felt like it," Draco snapped.

"I see," I said trying to conceal a smile. I knew he secretly missed me, but would never admit to it.

"You know judging by the way this place looks," Draco muttered on. "I'd bet you don't have any money at all. Probably not even a pureblood."

"What's a pureblood?" I asked. I decided to ignore his poor comment.

"A wizard or witch who is descended from other witches and wizards," Draco said sneering once again.

"Oh," I said", well I wouldn't know. "I sighed and let my eyes wander the room. "You know, considering I am in Gryffindor it sure seems strange that the head of Slytherin House would come to pick me up twice," I muttered randomly thinking aloud.

"Don't ask me," Draco replied. "I wouldn't know."

The door behind me burst open. Snape and Mr. Malfoy walked through the door. It was hard to tell if they were furious or glade. I glanced at the sliding door, and saw Miss Fingles on the ground passed out. I swallowed hard and turned to follow the men.

We walked out of the main office door and stood on the stoop. For a few minutes there was silence, and then Draco lifted a dirty can. I watched dumbfounded as he carried it back over towards us. Mr. Marlfoy glanced down at a watch that was placed on his wrist.

"Okay," He said", it's nearly time." He walked closer towards his son and placed a hand on the dirty can.

"It's a portkey," Snape informed me. "It's another form of wizarding transportation."

"Oh, I see," I said walking towards them.

I placed a hand on the dirty can as did Severus Snape. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was sure it had to be better than traveling by Floo Powder.

"Three," Mr. Malfoy began counting down," Two…one."

Then it happened, I felt a hook pull into my belly and jerk me forward. My feet had left the ground and I was terrified of letting go. I could feel Snape and Draco's shoulder's bumping into mine slightly. The scenery had turned into a mass of twirling colors. I was being pulled by some magnetic force that I couldn't stop. Just as quickly as it had begun, I landed hard on my feet. My legs felt weak, but I did my best to hide it. The dirty can hit my head and then landed on the ground.

"Ouch," I said rubbing the sore spot on my head.

"C'mon," Mr. Malfoy said. "We don't have a lot of time to waste."

I did my best to follow closely behind them. I still felt queasy in my stomach, but was able to keep from throwing up this time. I decided that maybe this wasn't the best form of travel either, but I couldn't decide which was worse. We made our way to the airport where a strange looking creature greeted us.

I wasn't sure, but I figure it was male. He had long pointy ears, sad eyes, and wore a sack. I felt bad for him, and wasn't sure if I should say anything. He whimpered without saying a word. He handed Mr. Malfoy some airplane tickets.

"I'll see you back at the house," Mr. Malfoy said. The little creature merely snapped his fingers and disappeared into a poof of smoke.

We walked forward and entered the Phoenix airport. We walked through the mass crowds quickly and got onto the plane. We had to go through security. I could tell that the Malfoy's hated being this close to muggles, but had no other option. We boarded the plane. I sat next to Draco on the flight. I got to watch the in-flight movie and have a cola beverage. I sighed and glanced out of the tiny window. I wondered what this year was going to be like.


	4. The Leaky Cauldron

I turned my glance towards Draco. We had been flying for a nearly thirty minutes. The sun was shinning brightly behind the clouds. _Ghostbusters _was the in-flight movie being played. I noticed that he was sneering at the muggles nearby him.

"Draco," I began. He turned his head to look at me. "How come we aren't traveling by magic to England?" I asked.

"Because it's too long a distance," Draco replied. "You'd probably end up losing an arm or something from your inexperience."

"Oh I see," I responded. "Why do you hate muggles and witches who might not be _pureblood_?" I asked curiously.

He just stared at me curiously. "Because," he muttered", they are inferior."

"Just because of a blood line?" I asked surprised by this ideal.

"Why do you care anyway?" Draco spat at me. "You're most likely a muggle born or," he stopped himself from saying the last word.

"Or what?" I asked. I was intrigued by this new world, and wanted to know everything.

"Mudblood," Draco muttered under his breath. Draco was surprised at my indifferent reaction. He shook his head. "It's supposed to be an insult," he informed me.

"Oh," I said nodding. I still didn't quite understand, but figured Cissy could tell me about it later.

The flight continued without any problems. We finally landed in London England. I was still in awe about being in this place, so far from home. I did my best to hide my enthusiasm, but was failing miserably. We made are way through the large airport. Once we were outside, I noticed that it was night time.

"We have things to do," Mr. Malfoy said. "I'll you see you later."

"See you at school," Draco muttered to me.

I watched them closely. They took a few steps and glanced around to make sure no muggles were watching. Then they turned and just disappeared. I blinked a few times trying to figure out what had just happened. Snape noticed my mystified expression.

"Its called disapparation," Snape informed me. "You're still too young to attempt it though."

"Oh," I replied. I help my suitcase tightly in my hands and wondered how we were going to get to wherever it was we were going.

I followed him toward the street. He managed to get a hold of a taxi. I put my suitcase in the trunk and got inside. The cab drove us through the streets of London. I stared out the window in awe. I was amazed by the appearance of this place. I watched the people walking through the streets, and glimpsed at the buildings. We drove by Big Ben, I was more than impressed. My new goal was to come out to London and live here.

The cab stopped at a some what familiar street. Snape paid off the muggle driver. I got my suitcase from the trunk and he drove off. We were standing in front of a small scruffy pub concealed between a large book store and a record store. I read the small old worn sign that read The Leaky Cauldron. Once the cab drove off we walked inside.

The place was looked worn down. It had a large fire place, several tables, and a bar off to the right. I noticed a few witches and wizards smoking and drinking. I tried not to stare. I remembered how Miss Fingles hated it when anyone stared at her while she drank.

"We're going to stay here for the night," Snape informed me. "Then you can do your school shopping in the morning."

"Thank you," I said.

I noticed the sides of his lips curl upwards. He walked around me to talk to the bartender. I glanced at the large fireplace. I was surprised that a lot of witches and wizards would come to such a place. I shrugged it off and waited patiently. Seconds later Snape handed me a key. He told me that in the morning I would find Cissy and that her and her family would be able to help from there. I nodded and said thank you one last time. He left me alone in the Leaky Caldron.

I walked up some creaky steps and found room 12. I put the key inside the keyhole and turned it. The door opened and I walked inside closing the door behind me. I let my suitcase rest on the floor. I sat down on the bed. The room was cozy yet was still just as shabby as the bar. I lay on the bed, my head rested on the pillow. I yawned still in thought about everything.

Why was Snape always the one looking after me? He didn't like the other Gryffindors, why was I different? I also wondered how this school year was going to go. I hoped I didn't get into too much trouble. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Knock, knock, I placed my hand on my forehead. I blinked my eyes open. At first my vision was blurry, but it soon became clear. The bright sunlight seeped inside from the large window. I glanced down at the door. Knock, knock.

"Room service," a woman shouted.

I sat up and removed the covers. I must have slept in late this morning. I stretched and walked over towards the door. I unlocked it and saw a tall woman standing there. She looked exhausted.

"Hello," I said.

"Hello, may I clean your room?" She asked.

"Sure," I responded.

She walked inside pulling a vacuum behind her. She began to dust off the place lightly.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Nine o'clock," she responded.

"Thank you," I said.

I quickly went into the bathroom and got ready. I took a quick shower and got dressed. I wore my ripped jeans, and a loose fitting shirt. I put my black cloak on; it had the Gryffindor logo on it. I smiled glancing down at it. I quickly walked out of the room and made way into the pub. I followed behind another young witch and her mother. We walked towards the back of the pub and walked outside.

There was a large brick wall with a gap in the center of it. The girl's mother tapped some of the bricks carefully. The bricks soon moved making the gap bigger. I stood and watched in amazement. Soon, the bricks had opened up to reveal Diagon Alley. I walked through the opening after them. I turned to watch the gap close back up then back at the girl and her mother.

"Are you a Hogwart's student to?" The girl asked me. She was tall, with long dirty blonde hair. She wore glasses. She smiled at me. "My name is Abigail, what's yours?"

"Marina, and yes I am a Hogwart's student to," I responded.

"What year?" She asked kindly.

"My second," I told her.

"Oh that's cool. This is my first year," she said. "Do you want to come with us, we're going to Gringott's then we're going to get the rest of the stuff on the list."

"Sure," I responded happily.

"I'm glade to have a friend already. I was worried," she said.

"Yea, it's not that bad. Actually it's great," I responded.

I followed the girl and her mother through the alley. I was glade that I wasn't alone. I kept an eye open for Cissy, or anyone else I knew. I noticed that the alley was busier than usual. I figured it was just because students were preparing for their years at Hogwart's.

"My mom can hardly wait to meet Gilderoy Lockhart at the bookstore today," she said.

"Who?" I responded confused.


	5. Gildorey Lockhart

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Abigail said.

Her hand motioned to a table that was in the front of a long line. I managed to get a better glimpse of him over the heads of the other witches standing in line. I noticed that he was surrounded by several pictures of himself, showing his glowing white teeth. Lockhart was wearing a very soft shade of blue that matched his eyes. He had a pointed hat set at a merry slant atop his wavy hair.

I was caught off guard by all the chaos. I figured that Lockhart was some famous celebrity. I had never been to any major book signing, or anything remotely to it. I came to the conclusion that it would be best to not attend another major event unless it was truly worth it.

I could hear someone shouting at the women 'calmly, please, ladies…don't push, there….mind the books, now'. Another little wizard was running around and taking pictures of Lockhart. For the first time I noticed the person that the small wizard forced Ron Weasley out of the way. I also caught a brief glimpse of Harry Potter standing beside Ron, his best friend.

"It _can't_ be Harry Potter," Gilderoy Lockhart said in astonishment.

Harry was pulled out of the crowd and forced to stand next to Lockhart. I just sighed, Harry was famous, and there was nothing I could do about it. I turned and walked out of the line and made my way towards a large stack of books. Abigail followed behind me. I glanced at the book on top of the pile; it had a large picture of Gilderoy Lockhart on it.

"Marina," I heard someone call out my name. "I'm so glade I found you here."

I glanced up to see Cissy. She smiled and walked towards me. Abigail followed behind me reluctantly. Cissy and I gave each other a long hug, and smiled at each other.

"How have you been?" I asked.

"I've been fine," Cissy responded. "How has the orphanage been treating you?"

"Well," I wasn't sure how to respond. "It's been an experience. Erm, I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine," Cissy responded. She glanced over my shoulder at Abigail. "Um Marina, can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"Sure," I said. I turned around to face Abigail", do you mind. I'll catch up with you later."

"That's all right," Abigail responded. "I'll see you at school."

Cissy waited until Abigail left before she began talking. "What are you doing being friends with a Wineheart?"

"Wineheart?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"That's Abigail Wineheart," Cissy responded", her entire family have been in Slitherin for centuries."

"Does that matter?" I asked.

"Trust me it does," Cissy responded glancing around. "See, her family has done a lot of things in the past. A lot of things, there is no guarantee that she won't follow in their footsteps."

"She seemed nice to me," I said shrugging my shoulders. "Oh well, oh is it okay if I stay with you until school starts up again?"

"Great," Cissy responded excitedly", you get to see my room. I'll just have to ask my mom first, but I'm sure she won't have any problems with it."

After a long wait to pay for the school books, Cissy and I made our way through Diagon Alley. Cissy briefly explained about mudbloods. We stepped into Madame Malkin's to get better robes. I got done first and stepped outside of the shop. I told Cissy that I would go out to buy some candy for us to snack on.

I made my way through the busy street trying to avoid bumping into people. I turned to glance behind me, but continued to move forward. The next thing I knew I was falling backwards. I glanced up to see the woman I had bumped into. She was short and had red hair. She turned to glance at me. I stood up and quickly apologized.

"That's all right dear," she said dusting me off. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I responded.

"What is your name dear?" She asked thoughtfully.

"Marina," I responded holding my hand out. "Marina Goldfield," I added without thinking.

"Oh," she responded." I'm Molly Weasley," she said shaking my hand.

I could tell that my name had caught another person off guard. I hated how my last name would cause people to hate me. What I hated more was that I had no idea why anyone hated my last name. I sighed and decided to leave.

"Well, I've got to go," I said", nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you dear," she said.

I walked around her and made my way into a nearby candy shop. I bought some random candies that either looked tasty or were just appealing. I rushed back towards Madame Milkin's shop to see if Cissy was done.

Later, we tried to find our other friends, but didn't have any luck. We decided that we would see them at Hogwart's soon enough. I followed Cissy and her parents out of Diagon Alley and through the Leaky Cauldron. Cissy's parents had a small house in London. I put my bags in the back of their car and they dove off. I could hardly wait to see Cissy's house. I closed my eyes and fantasized what it would look like.


	6. Cissy's House

Cissy and I talked aimlessly until the car finally came to a stop. I glanced out of the car window to see a small apartment building. I sighed figuring that it was a normal building. I opened the car door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Cissy and her parents got out of the car and stood beside me.

For the first time I got a really good look at Cissy's parents. Her mother was tall; she had a long sandy brown hair that was full of waves and soft blue eyes. Cissy and her mom shared the same nose; Cissy got her lips from her father though. He was tall as well, with short dark chestnut brown hair. He appeared to be masculine, but kind at the same time.

He walked forward and let out a strange whistle. The whistle carried to an echo. The apartment building began to shake. I took a step back thinking it was an earthquake. Then I noticed that the building seemed to be pulling apart. It was growing diagonally. I stared in amazement that none of the muggles seemed to even notice what was going on. The building broke apart to reveal a small house in the center. I just stared with my mouth agape.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" Cissy asked me teasingly.

I merely nodded then walked behind Cissy's parents. We walked onto the front porch, and walked inside. As soon as the door closed behind me, I heard the building returning to normal. I had to continue to remind myself that the building wasn't going to close in on us, and crush us. After all this was the wizarding world and this was magic.

I glanced around. We were in a narrow hallway that was covered in a dark blue wall paper. A small desk stood against the wall that held letters and other papers. A hat and coat rack hung on the wall. I noticed pictures of Cissy and her family hanging on the wall. I glanced forward to see a large stairway at the end of the hallway that stood to the right.

I walked forward, and saw a curved opening in the wall. It led to the living room that looked very welcoming. A large sofa sat in the center of the living room and atop a large round rug. Two chairs sat facing the couch at the other end of the rug. A small oval table stood in the center of the rug. A television rested atop a large table against the far wall.

I saw several moving pictures hanging on the walls. There shelves full of books. I noticed a large orb that rested atop the large table. I walked towards it. I wasn't sure why, but I was drawn to it. I knelt down and stared into the orb. At first I didn't see anything, and then something began to form. It was blurry at first, but it became clearer the more I stared into it.

The image was of a large stone building that stood on an island. I saw things moving around the place, I couldn't quite make out what they were. They looked like grim reapers. Then I saw a boat that stopped on the island's shores. It was a stormy night there, and the tiny people made their way towards the building. I squinted my eyes for a better look; I was finally able to recognize them. It was Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, some other person and me.

"I see you have an interest in fortune telling," someone said behind me.

I turned to glance behind me. A tall girl stood against the wall. She had her arms folded across her chest. She had long wavy sandy brown hair; she also had her mother's nose and her father's lips. She unfolded her arms and walked towards me. She held out her hand and smiled.

"My name is Talentha Portello, but most people just call me Tally," she said", Cissy's older sister."

"Oh," I said shaking her hand. "I'm Marina," I told her. I made sure to leave off my last name intentionally.

"That's nice name," she said pulling her hand away", you the friend I've heard so much about."

"She's been talking about me?" I asked mostly from surprise. I wasn't used to having friends, so it was all new to me.

"Of course she has," Tally said. "I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to meet you last year. My sister and I don't usually talk while we're at Hogwarts."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Well," Tally wasn't sure how to respond. "We're in different houses, and we just figured it best to not talk to each other."

"Oh," I responded.

"I'm glade you two met," CIssy said walking into the living room. "Marina, do you want to see my room?" Cissy asked.

I nodded and said farewell to Tally. I followed Cissy into the hallway again. We passed by another curved opening that lead to a large kitchen on our right. We walked up the stairs and walked through the upper hallway. I was led to the end of the hallway, to the last door. A large wooden sign read 'Cissy's room, enter at you own risk'. Cissy opened the door and walked inside. I followed behind her and glanced around the small room.

A small television sat on a large desk. I saw a self filled with books, and statues on display. A small nightstand held a table lamp and a picture of Cissy and her family. I saw several posters that covered her bedroom walls, and the floor was littered with random papers, clothes, and other objects.

I did my best to keep from stepping on anything. I walked towards a small chest that rested atop Cissy's large desk. I was about to lift the lid off the chest.

"Don't open that," Cissy shouted.

It was too late. I had opened the chest and was squirted with a black ink. I stood up straight and wiped the ink off my eyes. I glanced at the chest. The lid of the chest opened slightly and seemed to give a slight evil chuckle. A red ribbon stuck out at me, and instantly pulled itself back inside the chest.

"I'm sorry," Cissy said", it's my private chest. I put my most private things in there. Um, the black ink is a protection thing. I used a spell when I was younger to keep my older sister from peeking inside it."

"I see," I responded. "Is there a place that I can clean the ink off of me?"

"Yea," Cissy said", I'll lead you to the bathroom."

I followed Cissy down the hallway. Cissy opened the door and I walked inside. I turned the sink on and splashed water on my face. The black ink was hard to get off. Something about it made it stick. I used a light green cloth. It helped, but not much.

"You we're trying to look in Cissy's chest weren't you," Tally scoffed.

"Leave her alone," Cissy said walking into the bathroom. "She didn't know any better."

"Well, you have a month left to learn all about us," Tally said. "This should be fun." She finished and walked off.

"A month," I said. "I thought school was going to start in a few weeks?"

"What do you mean?" Cissy asked handing me a purple cloth.

"Well, I received a letter from Dumbledore, and Snape brought me to London," I responded.

"Oh," Cissy said smiling", that Dumbledore. He's always two steps ahead of everyone else. Well, I wouldn't think too much on it. You're here and everything is going great."

I continued trying to wash the ink off. The icy cold water caught me by surprise. I had ruined the light green cloth already, and was about to ruin the dark green one. I put it back down atop the counter.

"I know our house isn't like the other wizard's and witch's houses, but still its home," Cissy said shrugging her shoulders.

I glanced up at her and smiled", believe me it's the best house I've ever seen."

"Thanks," Cissy responded. "Listen that ink isn't going to come off without some hard scrubbing. You can take a shower in the tub; I'll bring in an extra pair of clothes for you."

"Thanks," I said.

Cissy walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I glanced up at a large mirror. I turned behind me and pushed a white curtain out of the way. I turned the mock crystal knobs and turned the water on. I glanced around the bathroom. Cissy's house seemed just like any normal house; unless you took a closer look at the smaller details. I smiled to myself. This was going to be the best month of my entire life.


	7. Mirrors & Drawlings

A week had passed, the best week I'd ever known. Cissy and I played some Quidditch. We were limited with the two of us, so we just practice trying to throw the large balls into the hoops and blocking. Tally never wanted to join us. She was too busy with her own life to hang out with us to often. I had gotten pretty good; I wouldn't say I was the best.

Cissy took me in London to buy some new clothes. She said that I should at least have more than two options of clothes to wear. She taught me an interesting trick. The coins in the wizarding world are worth a lot more in the muggle world. She took one of the bronze coins to a pawn shop. She claimed it was a great to get some much needed cash; her parents did it most of the time.

We spent the day shopping, eating, and just goofing off. She bought a small throw away camera. We took several pictures. It didn't bother either one of us that the pictures would appear like muggle pictures because it wasn't a special wizarding camera. She showed most of the sights in London. I got a better look at Big Ben. We also tried to make the guards, which stand in front of the palace, move.

Later that night we were just sitting up talking. We had a glass jar with a small ball of yellow light inside of it. It was something she had brought from Diagon Alley ages ago. We had the rest of the candy we brought hidden in the room, and were snacking on them. We we're fine just so long as Cissy's parent's didn't catch us.

"I can't believe he would say such a thing," Cissy replied in disgust and surprise. "I mean calling you a mudblood, that asshole."

"I don't get how it's bad though," I told her honestly. "

Cissy sighed", well it might be a little hard to explain. Basically it means dirty blood. Another words, because of your bloodline your not worthy enough to be near him."

"Oh," was all I could respond with.

"You're not insulted?" Cissy asked curiously. "Are you feeling all right?"

I giggled slightly and shook my head. "It's not that bad to me, I've heard worse. Besides if he really meant it then he wouldn't be sending me letters."

"If you say so," Cissy muttered", you know you a very nutty person." She eat some of her candy bar. She finished chewing and swallowed and then stared at me. "You like him, don't you?"

"What?" I remarked amazed she would ask such a question. "Me like Draco, yea right. What makes you think something like that? Besides that he is a Slytherian and I am a Gryffindorian, what kind of a match would that be I mean honestly?"

"Sounds dangerous," she responded.

"Quiet you."

We giggled about until a scratching sound at the window stopped us. Cissy stood up and walked over to her small window. She struggled to open it without making to much noise. An owl flew in with a letter and a mirror in its mouth. The owl dropped the letter and mirror on her bed and flew back out the window.

Cissy walked over towards her bed and opened the letter. "It's from Rema. She says this was a gift from her cousin. Hm, it says look into the mirror."

She shrugged her shoulders and refolded the envelope. I stood up and walked over towards her. Cissy lifted the mirror and stared into it. I placed my head on top of her shoulder to get a better look.

"Hello," Rema said suddenly appearing in the mirror.

We both jumped back a bit.

"Don't freak out," Rema said quickly. "My cousin made these. He wanted us to try them out first. If they are truly successful then he can start selling them."

"Makes perfect sense," I said.

"Marina," Rema said surprised", I didn't know you were there."

"Yea," I responded", I've been here nearly a week now."

"No matter, I'm sure the bird I sent out with your mirror will find you eventually. I told him to give it to no one else but you," she informed me.

"That's comforting," I said.

"What are we going to do with these?" Cissy asked abruptly.

"Well," Rema began", this can be our secret way of communication. We can get in contact, and tell when to meet in the room. In the back of the mirror there are letters engraved into the back. If you trace a letter with your wand, it'll allow you to have a private conversation with the person whose name begins with the letter."

"So, if I trace the letter C, it'll connect me with Cissy's mirror only?" I asked.

Rema nodded.

"Sound simple enough," Cissy said. "Who else is getting one?"

"Henry, John, and I'm giving one to Jean," Rema said. Cissy rolled her eyes.

"What about Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle?" I asked.

Rema paused then answered", if they still want to be friends with us then yea, I'll send them one. I sent them a letters a few days ago, so we'll see what happens."

"Rema," I began", can I ask you something. When I was in the orphanage I was able to do magic and I didn't get in trouble."

"You did what?" Rema asked me astonished."There is no way you could have been doing magic. You'd be expelled by now."

"That's why I want to find out why," I told her firmly.

"Well," Rema said with a sigh", I'll see if I come across anything. If you really are daring you could ask Dumbledore."

"Then I'd be expelled for sure," I responded.

"I'm sure we'll find out eventually. I have to go now. Let me know when you get your mirror Marina. Good night," Rema said.

"G'night," Cissy said.

"Good night," I responded.

The mirror suddenly turned back into Cissy's reflection. "That's pretty cool isn't it?"

"Yea," I said", very."

The owl arrived a few minutes later with my mirror. We had fun testing it out. I snuck into the kitchen and traced the letter C. It worked; I was able to talk to Cissy. I got some cans of soda out of the fridge and went back to her room. We eventually fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning. I heard the shower water running, and knew Cissy was taking her morning shower. I yawned and stretched out my limbs. I stood up and walked towards Cissy's desk. I saw a paper that had fallen onto the ground. I bent down to pick it up. It was a drawling of some strange creatures.

I wasn't sure if they were real or imaginary. They had bee sketched from pencil. Their bodies were nearly skeletal, but they had two strong hind legs, and two short fore arms that curled slightly. It had large wings that could wrap around its entire body. The page was labeled 'Chalsers' by Cissy Portello, part Cissy's secret drawlings.

"Secret eh," I muttered to myself.

When I heard the shower turn off, I quickly placed the paper back where I found it. I made sure that Cissy wouldn't know that I had seen it. If it was secret then she'd be pissed if she knew I saw it. I turned on the small television and sat down on her bed. Cissy walked inside wearing a shirt and jeans, a towel was in her hands.

"Just woke up?" Cissy asked a bit sleeply.

"Yea," I told her", a few minutes ago."

Cissy shrugged her shoulders", the showers ready for you."

"Thanks," I replied and got up to take my shower.


	8. Return to Hogwarts

Time had passed all too quickly. I was having the time of my life at Cissy's house. If I had a choice, I think I would have chosen to live with and her family. The summer finally ended. Cissy's parents took a taxi to King's Cross Station. Rema and Tally said very few words to each other. Once we made it there, we kept our eyes open in hopes of finding our friends again.

I walked onto the platform, following behind Cissy's family. Cissy stood beside me; telling me about how excited she was to be heading back to school. We close to being late, but we're making good time in our mad dash through the crowds. I caught a brief glimpse of something running in the distance. All I could make of it was that it was small, and must have been in hurry.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

"See what?"

"I guess it was nothing," I said shaking my head.

"Hey," a familiar face called to us from the distance.

"Oh no," Cissy said", not her again."

I turned to see Jean Reign running towards us. She quickly hugged me and then hugged Cissy. "I missed you guys. How has it been?"

"It's been fine," I responded.

"Oh, that's good, that's very good. Well, I'm off to try and get a good seat on the train. I'll catch up with two later. Okay? Bye," Jean said and continued walking swiftly past us.

We continued walking through the large crowds of people. We finally found the pillar that stood between platforms nine and ten. Tally ran threw first; after her mother made sure that she had everything and made her promise to write. Cissy's mother did the same thing with her. Cissy's mom hugged and I ran threw the pillar.

"Come on," Cissy said grabbing a hold of my hand. "We need to try and get a good seat."

She began pulling me through the crowd. I saw Draco standing in the distance with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They were standing with their parents. I saw the small creature standing next to Draco. I tilted my head curiously and stared at it.

"Cissy," I said tugging on her hand. "What's that?" I pointed at the little creature standing next to Draco.

"Oh," Cissy said", that's a house elf. Some wizarding families own them; they're like maids or butlers. Now come on will you?"

Cissy continued to pull me forward. We made our way through the other kids and boarded the red train quickly. It was even more crowded inside. People were trying to move around in this tight narrow area to get to their compartments.

"There you two are," Henry Beause said walking towards us. "We have a compartment already. Follow me," he said turning around.

We followed behind him. It was a challenge for me to see him over the heads of the older kids. I kept my eye on Cissy, she was easier for me to spot. I figured that she had a better view of where Henry was, and was still following him. We finally stopped and entered our compartment. Henry closed the door behind us. I was smiled when I saw John-Claude Verese, Rema Traussle, Keci Thomas sitting in the compartment. I saw something sitting next to Keci, a boy. He looked thin, wore glasses, and had short blonde hair.

"Have a seat," Henry said pointing to two small empty spots.

Cissy and I took a seat quickly. I noticed that Henry was still standing against the door.

"Henry, if you want my seat," I began. He interrupted by holding a hand out.

"I'm fine standing," he responded.

"Marina," Rema began", I've been doing tons of research. I haven't really found any reason that you were able to perform magic without getting in trouble." She sighed and continued", I've tried to find what I could. I'm hoping that the Hogwart's library will have more answers."

"Is that all you're going to do this year," Cissy scoffed ",study and do more studying?"

"Well, sorry if I want to get good grades unlike some people," Rema retorted.

"Who is he?" I asked trying to change the subject. I nodded in the direction of the new guy.

"Oh," Keci said", this is Stuart Campbell."

"Hello Stuart, I'm Marina," I said placing a hand on my chest.

"Nice to met you," he responded with a simple smile.

"Let's just hope that there aren't any vampires around this time," John said with a smirk. "Or we'll have to kill them off again."

"Yea and you'll be the one to do it to," Cissy said with a chuckle.

"You know it, I've been working out over the summer," he said and held up an arm to try and show off a muscle.

Cissy reached out and squeezed his arm. He quickly pulled away, and I could see the expression on his face that said she hurt him.

"It's sensitive, you have to be gentle," John said.

"Sure, gentle," Cissy said.

We all giggled, but tried to hide it. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from giggling with the others. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. The train took off quickly. We chatted about our summers. Most of us hadn't done anything all that special. Cissy told them about Draco calling me a mudblood. The others couldn't believe he would say such a thing, but it still didn't bother me.

We finally arrived to our stop. I was relieved that we could finally breathe. Well, that was after we got off the train. Hagrid led all the first years to the boats. The others walked off in a slightly different direction through the woods. I was still intimidated by the trees. I had grown up in a desert with mountains and flat lands. This was still all new to me.

We came to the carriages. I saw the horse, or if that's what you could call it, that pulled the carriages. They're faces reminded me of a dragon's face. I walked around it to get a better look. It stared at me with shinning blank white eyes. It had a long black mane that lead to large wings that appeared to be made of leather. I reached forward to try and touch it. It allowed me to pet its snout and whined.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked.

"Just petting the horse, or what ever you call it," I responded walking back towards them.

"I don't see anything," Henry said.

"You don't see it?" I questioned confused.

"No, nothings pulling the carriage," Henry said.

"Are you feeling all right Marina?" Cissy asked.

I was about to say something, but Draco interrupted me.

"Look what's come to Hogwart's, a bunch of mudblood and blood traitors," he said with a sneer. His friends snickered at the comment.

"Like you would know," Rema said crossing her arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked walking closer towards Rema threatingly.

Rema stood her ground. "I just happen to think that you're the biggest coward and blood traitor of them all."

"Why you-"Draco began.

I saw him begin to grab his wand. I rapidly walked towards them. I placed a hand on Draco's chest. "Please Draco; it's not worth getting expelled."

Draco pulled my hand off of his chest and took a few steps away from me. "Don't ever touch me again mudblood. You're right, none of you are wroth it."

"Come on," Henry said pulling on my cloak. "Let's just go."

We quickly got into the carriage and it rode off. I watched Draco and his friends fade off into the distance. I exhaled disappointedly. I still couldn't tell if Draco was a friend or if he was an enemy. When no one else was around he acted like a friend. When his friends, or anyone else, were around he acted like a brat. Cissy placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Just forget about him," she told me. "He's an asshole who doesn't even deserve to be friends with us."

"If you say," I replied. "I just feel bad that it didn't work out though."

As soon as we arrived at the Hogwart's castle rumors were soaring. The most recent rumor was that Harry Potter and Ron weren't seen on the Hogwart's express. One person claimed to have seen Harry about to fall from a car. He was grabbed a hold of the door handle, and Ron eventually pulled him back to safety. As to why they were late depended on who you talked to. I just shrugged it off, and ignored the fact that Harry was popular without really being popular.

The dinner feast was the same as last year. Only difference was that I didn't have to put on the sorting hat. Before we began eating the first years nervously walked inside and were sorted. Stuart Campbell was sorted into Gryffindor, and Abigail Wineheart had been sorted into Slytherine. Once again, my friends were separated into different houses.

Dumbledore gave a few us a few parting words. Then we headed off to bed. I had noticed that Mr. Filch walked into the Great Hall. He said something to Snape and the two walked off. I wonder why they left, and the thought finally dawned on me. Harry and Ron must have finally arrived. I didn't bother to say anything and continued eating. I now knew that Hogwart's had the best food that I'd ever tasted and probably would ever taste again.

"So, are you glade to be back?" Cissy asked me.

"Very glade," I said swallowing my bit of bread. "I'm glade to be away from that orphanage."

"We'll we're glade to have you here," Cissy said smiling.

"What exactly does a house elf do again?" I asked her curiously.

"Well, like I said they're like maids or butlers. They usually serve a single wizarding family, and are bound to that family unless their master provides them with a piece of clothing," Cissy informed me.

"Bound?" I responded perplexed. "Doesn't that mean that they're slaves?"

"Slaves?" Cissy questioned.

"They're slaves to their masters. Those poor creatures," I said looking down at my food solemnly.

"Well that's the awful truth of life anywhere isn't it? Nothing is perfect anywhere," Cissy responded grabbing some bread from the center of the table.

"I suppose so," I responded still feeling bad for them.

After dinner we left to go to bed. The first years were lead by the house prefect to the common room. I watched Stuart follow suit behind the others. He seemed to be very shy. I smiled remembering when I was a first year. That had been the most exciting year of my life. Even though I was always terrified of being kicked out of Hogwart's because I was behind in actually being able to perform magic. Now, I wasn't worried. I knew I could do magic, and knew I had friends to support me.

Our luggage had been placed in the bedroom. Cissy and I hung out in the common room for a while. We held the mirror that Rema had given us and talked to the others. They were in their common rooms as well. After an hour or two, I finally went up to bed. I was sleepy, and was looking forward to meeting my new teacher's for the first time.


	9. Letters, Mandrakes, and Lockhart

The entire Great Hall was filled with rumors about why Harry Potter and his best friend, Ronald Weasley, were late. It was just like it had been on the Hogwart's Express yesterday. I did my best to ignore it, but Cissy refused to shut up about it. She wanted to make sure that I knew every rumor that the students had created. I just nodded and eat my bacon, eggs, and porridge. I remembered when Snape came into the Great Hall just to hear their reasons for being late.

"Mail's here," Cissy said staring up at the ceiling.

I turned my glance upwards and watched the owls drop random packages, or small envelopes to various students. A large and proud white owl caught my attention. It flew towards me and dropped a letter in front of my plate. I picked it up and saw only one name-Draco M.

"What's he-"Cissy began but stopped when she saw Ron's red envelope. "A howler," she remarked in a low and excited voice.

I turned and stared at the end of the table to see what the big deal was.

"Open," a round faced boy said nervously. "It'll all be over in a few minutes-"

Ron, with a shaking hand, finally opened the letter. A loud screeching sound filled the Great Hall. I covered my ears but it didn't work.

"-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THORUGH WHEN WE SAW IT GONE-"

The silverware was rattling on the table. The stone walls created an echo which made it worse. By now everyone was curious to see who had gotten the howler.

"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED-YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRIAGHT BACK HOME."

I watched the envelope drop from Ron's hands and burst into flames. Some of the students chuckled, and some just went straight to gossip. I just shook my head to make sure I could still hear clearly. Once the faint ringing ceased I turned my attention back to Draco's letter.

"I wouldn't even bother reading it if I were you," Cissy muttered.

"Well, aren't you curious to see what it says?" I asked trying to invoke her curiosity.

Cissy didn't respond. Instead she just took a bit of bacon. I undid the seal and pulled out the letter.

Sorry about what I said earlier. Maybe one of these days you'll understand why I had to do what I did.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

"Uh," I muttered after reading it. "That's interesting."

"What is?" Cissy asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

I did my best to keep Cissy from asking my about the letter. She just went on with her gossiping. After breakfast I made my way through the hallways of the Hogwart's castle. Luckily, Cissy knew were our next class was. It was _herbology_ with Professor Sprout. It was across the lawn in a greenhouse.

"Hi," someone called out. It was Jean Reign. Keci Thomas was standing beside her.

"Oh, it's our first class of the year," Jean said enthusiastically.

"Are you always this-"

"Energetic," I finished for Cissy.

"There he is," Jean said joyfully.

I turned to see Professor Sprout walking with Professor Lockhart. Jean had a goofy looking smile and wouldn't take her off of him.

"Don't mind her," Cissy said. "She's just fancies professor Lockhart, like all the others do."

"What about you?"

"I'm not a follower," Cissy said in a low voice.

"Oh, hello there!" Professor Lockhart called out gleefully. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology then she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels…"

"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" Professor Sprout interrupted. I could tell she was quickly getting agitated by him.

Everyone began murmuring instantly. All of us had only been in Greenhouse one before. I was told that the third one contained far more dangerous plants. Professor Sprout unlocked the door, and the students began walking inside. I heard Professor Lockhart call out to Harry, and ask to speak to him. Professor Sprout took her place behind the trestle bench in the center of the greenhouse. I noticed the earmuffs resting on the bench.

"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake!" Professor Sprout told the class.

Naturally Hermione Ranger raised her hand. "Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," she informed everyone", it is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their orginal state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," Sprout said back in her cheerful manner. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," Hermione quickly responded.

I really should have become friends with her.

"Preciously. Take another ten points," Sprout said. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young." She pointed to a row of deep trays, and everyone swarmed in for a better look. They were a purplish green color and appeared to be in clumps. "Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," she instructed and everyone did so. "When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered. When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right-earmuffs on."

I quickly put them over my ears and watched Sprout put on her fuzzy pink earmuffs. I couldn't hear anything. Sprout pulled back the sleeves of her robes and grasped one of the plants firmly. She pulled hard to reveal something that looked like a horrific baby. The leaves were growing out of its head. I couldn't believe anyone would be able to cut up something that resembled a human. I could tell that it was screaming, or crying I wasn't sure, but couldn't hear it.

Sprout took a large pot from under the table and placed it inside. She quickly began filling the pot with soft dirt. It didn't take long for it to be covered up to its leaves once again. She gave the thumbs up and everyone quickly took off their earmuffs.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she said calmly. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Four to a tray-there is a large supply of pots here-come-post in the sacks over there-and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething."

Sprout swiftly slapped a spiky, dark red plant as she gave her instructions. It had long feelers that were trying to sneak over her shoulder. Cissy and I were joined by Henry Beause and John-Claud Verese. Jean and Keci found two other Hufflepuff's to work with.

"I heard Draco sent you a letter," John said.

"So, what's the big deal?" I responded.

"It matters because of what he said last night. He called us mudbloods or blood traiters," John went on. "You can't honestly still want to be his friend."

"Well, uh," I fumbled with the right words. I wasn't sure what to say. "It doesn't matter, people make mistakes. It happens," was all I could say.

I quickly put the earmuffs on so I would hear his counter arguments. I knew Cissy would pip up with something eventually. I saw them talking with each other, but couldn't hear a word of it. I saw the other put on their earmuffs. We quickly began working on replanting our Mandrakes. It was interesting working without saying a word. Especially with Mandrakes that acted just like _human_ babies. They squirmed, kicked, flailed sharp fists at us, grinded their teeth, it reminded me too much of babies. I shuddered at the thought of their future.

Afterwards, we all headed back to the castle. We had to wash off the dirt before going to transfiguration. Jean talked a mile a minute about wanting to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She got distracted within minutes and ran off somewhere. After the wash, we went to class. I found it slightly difficult to transform a beetle to a button. A few tries, and I managed to get it halfway changed.

"A button with legs and feelers," Cissy scoffed. "I'm sure anyone would want to wear that on their coats."

"And how is yours coming along?" I said sarcastically.

She just frowned and crossed her arms. I watched Ron asking McGonagall for a new beetle. His wand has become broken, and he used some Spellotape to try and fix it. I thought it was funny to watch him try and do a spell with the broken wand. The lunch bell rang, and we were all glade for it.

I told Cissy that I was going to use the bathroom and would meet her in the Great Hall. I snuck off into one of the abandoned classrooms. I pulled out a blank piece of paper and fervently began writing a response to Draco's letter. I pretty much just questioned his reasoning for saying what he did. Why would he have to say things like that?

Before heading into the Great Hall, I pulled over a first year Ravenclaw. I specifically told her to give the letter to Draco, and to not tell anyone else what she was doing. Surprisingly, she asked me to pay for her services, and demanded a bit more for the secrecy. I sighed and gave her two gold galleons, and she was off. I waited a few minutes then made my way to eat some much needed lunch.

I took my usual seat next to Cissy. Jean sat on the other side of me, with Keci still tagging along behind her. Stuart took the seat across from me. We didn't talk much, mostly because we couldn't. Jean kept talking randomly about what she thought Lockhart would be like. I just nodded and grinned to myself. Once lunch was over we made our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I saw Harry talking to some little boy who was holding a camera. It didn't take long for Draco to intervene.

"_Signed photos? _You're giving out _signed photos_, Potter?"

Cissy stopped instantly to watch what was going to happen.

"Everyone line up!" Draco shouted. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

"No, I'm not," Harry responded angrily. I could see him clenching his fists. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"You're just jealous," the small kid piped up.

"_Jealous_?" Draco responded."Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself." Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were snickering behind him.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy," Ron said threatingly. I saw Crabbe and Goyle instantly stop snickering and began crackling their knuckles.

"Be careful, Weasley," Malfoy told him", you don't want to start any trouble or your Mommy'll have to come and take you away from school." He changed his voice to try and mimic the howler", _if you put another toe out of line_-"

A group of fifth year Slytherins laughed. Draco seemed to be enjoying the outbursts.

"Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," he went on. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house-"

Ron pulled out his wand. I felt my heart stop beating.

"Look out!" Hermione shouted.

"What's all this, what's all this?" Lockhart suddenly intervened. I allowed myself to breathe once again. "Who's giving out signed photos?" The professor jovially placed an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!"

"Why did he have to interrupt?" Cissy said bitterly.

"I'm glade he did. Who knows what could have happened," I said.

"You can't be serous."

Draco and his Slytherin friends walked past us. I saw a grin spread across his face. He merely took a quick glance at me then continued on his way. I watched them walk down the hall and out of sight. Cissy ran her fingers through her hair.

"You are one crazy girl," she muttered. "Come on, let's go to class."

She turned and began walking down the hall. I paused for a minute. I felt a tug on my sleeve and glanced down to see the same Ravenclaw girl. She held up a letter to me. Her black hair fell just past her shoulders. She was accompanied by a girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

"If you like him," the blonde headed Ravenclaw began", why don't you just tell him."

"Who said I liked him?" I quickly remarked. "Thanks anyway," I said.

They walked past me and headed down the hallway. The two girls parted ways. I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

We're in different houses. You're in Gryffindor, and I'm in Slytherin. Trust me, it will never work out. Let's try and keep this from getting complicated.

Sincerely,

Draco M.

"Marina," Cissy called out.

I quickly hid the letter in my bag. I rushed through the crowd of students to catch up with her. I followed her to Lockhart's class. We took our usual seats in the back row. I noticed how all the girls seemed to be chatting about him. I just pulled out my textbooks and waited. Once everyone was seated he cleared his throat. He walked picked up one of the student's copy of _Travels with Trolls_ and held it up to one of his winking portraits.

"Me," he said pointing and winking. "Gildery Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award-but I don't talk about that. I didn't get ride of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

A few smiled weakly at his comment. He reminded me of someone I used to know way back. An old celebrity I used to idolize, but found him to be a complete asshole.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books-well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about-just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in-"

He handed out the test papers then returned to the front of the class. "You have thirty minutes-start-now!"

I glanced down at the paper. All the questions were about him. Questions like what was his favorite color, secret ambition, greatest achievement. I shook my head and checked the second page, still about him. I rolled my eyes and decided to do the best that I could. I was glade when he picked up the papers.

"Tut, tut-hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is lilac. I say so in _Year with the Yeti_. And a few of you need to read _Wanderings with Werewolves_ more carefully-I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples-though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!"

He gave us another wink. I noticed Jean paying extreme attention to every word he said. I tried to forget about whom I associated him with, but was unable. I closed my eyes tightly, ignoring everything. I saw him in a dark tunnel, or cave like place. He was with Ron and Harry. Lockhart was passed out on the ground, but quickly got back up and snatched Ron's wand away from him. He tried to a spell, but it backfired on him.

"Excellent!" His loud voice pulled me out of my vision. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gyrffindor! And so-to business-" He bent over his desk and picked up a covered cage. He placed it on his desk. "Now-be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm." Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. "I must ask you not to scream," he said in a low voice", it might provoke them."

Everyone held their breath. He swiftly removed the cover. "Yes," he went on dramatically", freshly caught Cornish pixies."

One of the students let out a raucous laughter. I leaned back in my seat no longer intrigued.

"Yes?" The laughing student said. "Well, they're not-they're not very-dangerous, are they?"

"Don't be so sure!" Lockhart said wiggling his finger at the student. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"

The pixies were a vibrant blue, and were around eight inches I think. They had pointed faces and shrill voices. Now that the cover had been removed they were flying around. Pulling at the bars and making faces at the people closest to them.

"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!"

Before I even had time to think about what he said, he had released them. Cissy pulled me under the desk. The pixies were flying everywhere. They picked up a boy, by his ears, and lifted him into the air. Several of them flew out the windows. I covered my face to keep glass from getting into my eyes. Some grabbed an ink bottle and sprayed it on Cissy, missing me by inches. Pictures were being torn off the walls, books were being tossed.

"Come on now-round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.

"Is he serious?" Cissy asked.

"I don't know," I said slapping one away.

"Peskipiksi Pesternomo!" Lockhart shouted.

"Is that even a spell?" I asked.

The pixies seized his wand and threw it out the window. Lockhart dived under his own desk. The chandelier finally gave way and fell. The boy had fallen where Lockhart once stood. The bell rang and I was immediately pulled out the door. Cissy pulled me out of the class and down the hallway.

"See," Cissy said", see why I don't fancy him."

I let out a loud burst of laughter. "You look so funny," I managed to tell her.

"Oh shut up will you," Cissy said and stormed away.

I finally stopped laughing. This had been the most fun I'd had in a while. I was just thankful to be back. I watched the boy, who had been placed on the chandelier, walk down the hallway. I was glade that he didn't get seriously injured.

I inhaled deeply and made way through into the courtyard. A large owl swooped down towards me. I untied a letter that had been attached to its ankle. As soon as the string was untied it took off into the air. I glanced at the letter, there was no return address. I opened it and pulled out a dirty piece of paper.

Dear sweetie,

Hope you made it to school all right. Why haven't you been sending back any letters? I have to go, write back soon.

Sinc

The letter ended. I reread the letter a few times. I knew I had to be reading this wrong. Someone was still sending me letters. Only this time, this person wanted me to write back. Who was sending them, and why. I shoved the paper into my bag and took off to find Cissy. One of these days, I was going to find out who this mystery person was.


	10. Draco & a Jaguar's Head

Days had passed without much excitement. I tried to send Draco letters but he never responded. After two days I just gave it up. The rumors never stopped for a second. Cissy made sure I was up to date on the latest gossip. Harry had a stalker, Colin Creevey, or the boy with the camera. Several people were either flirting, or dating. A few were being bullied by someone or other. I found it interesting but didn't always pay attention to every word she said. I suppose the highlight of the days had been when one of Ron's spells accidently hit Professor Flitwick between the eyes and left him with a large green boil. The weekend came with a new surprise. 

I awoke early that morning. I got dressed quickly and was about to head down to the Great Hall when I saw a snowy owl tapping at my window. I quickly opened and watched the owl dropped off a letter and fly off. I wasn't sure if I wanted to open it. I sighed and reached for the letter. 

"Who's that from?" Jean suddenly asked from behind me.

"Good morning Jean," I responded rolling my eyes.

"Who is it from? Who is it from? Who is it from? Who is it from?"

"Jean," I shouted. Jean closed her mouth and just stared at me. "I don't know yet. I need to read it first."

I swiftly picked up the letter and opened it. I could tell by the paper that it was from Draco. The mystery person usually sent dirty crumpled pieces of paper. I read through it quickly.

"So, who is it from? What did it say?"

"It's from Draco," I told her. "It says to go down to the Quidditch field."

"Why would it say that?" Jean asked astonished.

"Let's go find out shall we," I said and walked around her. Jean followed behind me eagerly.

Jean went on talking about random things. I tuned her out and made my way through the castle. Once outside I smiled. It was a brisk morning; a light mist filled the area. I was definitely glade to be back at Hogwarts. We walked to the Quidditch field. I thought it was odd to be here in the deserted field. I saw Colin, a small first year taking pictures. Hermione and Ron were sitting in the stands eating the remnants of their breakfast. The Gryffindor team had begun practicing already. 

"Oh, wow," Jean muttered.

I glanced down and saw something emerging from the shadows. They walked closer towards us. I squinted to try and get a better view. My eyes went wide when I saw the Slytherin Quidditch team form from the mist. 

"This is going to be bad," I muttered to Jean.

"I don't believe this!" Wood said angrily. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!" Wood flew straight to the ground. He landed hard and dismounted. Harry, Fred, and George followed behind him. "Flint, this is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!" Wood told him. I could see the anger in his face.

I saw something flicker in Flint's face. He grinned. I only watched on waiting to see what would happen next. "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."

The rest of the Gryffindor team flew onto the ground. I noticed that there were no girls on the Slytherin team. They stood shoulder to shoulder as if forming a large wall. 

"But I booked the field!" Wood retorted. "I booked it!"

"Ah," Flint said grinning wider. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owning to the need to train their new Seeker.'" Flint handed Wood the note.

"You've got a new Seeker?" Wood said. He glanced around searching for the new seeker. "Where?"

I watched someone walk from around the wall of Slytherins. My mouth dropped when I saw Draco Malfoy appear. He was smirking proudly.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" One of the twins asked with disdain. 

"Funny you should mention Draco's father," Flint said. The entire Slytherin team smiled broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."

Every member on the Slytherin team revealed their brooms. I read the gold letterings _Nimbus Two Thousand and One_. I shook my head trying to sort through all of this. 

"Very latest model. Only came out last month," Flint added. He flicked off some dust from his new broom. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps," he smiled viciously at the twins holding their Cleansweep brooms", sweeps the board with them." 

No one said anything for several minutes. I blinked my eyes thinking about this. Draco had bought his way onto the Slytherin team to play the same position that Harry plays. He sent me a letter early this morning to make sure that I had been here to see this.

"Oh," I said to myself. 

"Oh, look," Flint went on", a field invasion."

Ron and Hermione had begun crossing the field and walked towards the two teams.

"What's happening?" Ron asked. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?" Ron asked indicating Draco. 

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Draco responded slyly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."

Ron stared at the brooms with his mouth hanging wide open. 

"Good aren't they?" Draco asked with a slight sarcastic tone. "But perhaps Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them." The Slytherin team roared with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to but their way in," Hermione remarked", They got in on pure talent."

Draco's face changed to show a superior grin. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he told her.

There was an instant reaction. Flint jumped in front of Draco to protect him from the twins. One of the girls shrieked "How dare you!" Jean tugged at my arm. 

Ron pulled out his wand yelling "; you'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" 

There was a loud bang the echoed through the field. I saw a jet of green light shot out from Ron's wand. Instead of the light hitting Draco it hit Ron in his stomach. He went reeling backwards and landed on the grass. 

"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly.

I watched Ron trying to open his mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead there was a belch and a slug. I disgustedly watched it slither from his mouth and land on the ground. The Slytherin team howled with laughter. Flint hung on his broomstick for support. Draco was on all fours pounding his fists on the ground. The Gryffindors surrounded Ron afraid to touch him. Jean and I just continued to watch the scene from a respectable distance. 

"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," Harry said. Harry and Hermione lifted him from the ground and whisked him away. 

"See ya at breakfast," Jean said running off. 

I stood still unsure of what to do. I combed my fingers through my hair. I turned and made my descent from the scene. I didn't come across too many people walking the hallways. I assumed it was too early. I was about to turn a corner when I felt someone pull at my sleeve. I was whirled around and soon staring at Draco.

"Glade you showed up," Draco said.

"Why haven't you been responding to my letters?" I asked. "Are we friends or aren't we?"

"It's hard to explain," Draco said. 

"What's so hard to explain?"

"Trust me, one day you'll know."

"Know what? Look, just because we're in different houses doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"It does make a difference Marina," Draco replied.

I shifted my weight. "So, you're the new Slytherin Seeker."

"Yes," he responded.

"If we're not friends, then why did you send me a message asking me to come to the field?"

"Just thought you would like to know," Draco muttered turning from me.

I watched him walk down the corridor. I smirked to myself. I shook my head knowing that I had to get ride of such notions. I turned and continued walking down the hallway. Naturally it didn't take me long to get lost. Inside the castle each hallway looked the same. When I stopped seeing other students I knew I was really lost. 

I ran down the hallway and turned. I continued to run but wasn't getting anywhere. The light was growing dimmer. I had run into the darker side of the castle, could I be in the dungeons? I continued to run in hopes that running would somehow help me find my way. I continued to run forward until the wall stopped me. I fell backwards and landed on the ground.

"Ouch," I said carefully moving onto my side. 

I saw glanced at the wall to my right. I saw something, some sort of mark on it. I pulled out my wand and said ", lumos." The tip of my wand lit up brightly. I moved my wand closer to the wall. It was a jaguar's head. Someone had engraved a jaguar's head into the wall. 

I moved closer towards it. My finger lightly touched the engraving. My fingers traced the head carefully then I heard something. I backed away and stood up. I stared at the wall as it began to move before my eyes. It shook violently for a few seconds. Then a part of the wall moved towards me and then moved to the side to reveal a narrow opening. 

"Wow, this is different." 

I carefully inched my way towards it. I was about to walk inside when I heard distant voices walking towards me. It was coming from the dark entrance. I took a few steps backwards. 

"Nox," I said and ran the opposite way of the hallway. The light distinguished itself as I ran. I wasn't going to risk either getting detention or getting captured by some crazed lunatic. Not this early in the school year. 

I ran without any real direction. Eventually I slowed my running to a walk. I turned down a corridor and saw light at the other end. I walked towards it quickly. It lead me back outside. The sunlight blinded my eyes for a few seconds. I lifted my hand to block the light. 

"There you are," Rema said. "We've been looking for you."

"Really?" I asked glancing at her. She held an armful of books. "Why?"

"I just heard about Draco on the Slytherin team. Is it true that he bought his way in?"

"In a sense yea he did." I informed her. 

"Are you okay?" Rema asked.

"Yea, I think so." I decided it was best not to tell anyone just yet. I could have been imagining the entire thing. Besides I knew what would happen if I did tell them. They would all want to go down and investigate. 


	11. Halloween

_A/N: I must apologize in advance for not only taking so long to upload a new chapter, but for the length of this one. I had a lot to include in this chapter, so much was happening at that moment I didn't want to leave anything out. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Do you remember this place?" Rema Traussle asked me opening the door.

I nodded walking inside the abandoned classroom. The room looked the same as it did when I last left. It still had a fireplace, a few chairs and some shelves. I noticed that a few things had been added. I saw three of the house symbols had been placed against the wall in front. Just below it were the book shelves full of various books. I saw the large window with the shelves underneath it to my right. Jean's radio was off to the side resting in the corner. In the center was lthe arge furnished table with chairs surrounding it, and a rug beneath it. The fireplace was to my left and beautifully decorated. I walked forward and onto the red carpet.

"It feels like a lifetime since I've been in here," I muttered.

"Welcome back," John-Claude Verese greeted while standing up.

"How did you guys get all this stuff in here?" I asked. I could tell they had gotten more things since last time.

"Some of it we brought from home. The rest we got from around the castle. Trust me its easier than it looks," Cissy Portello said walking in behind me.

I took a seat in one of the large chairs surrounding the table.

"I know that look," John said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm sorry about Draco," John said placing a hand over mine. "Not all things are meant to be."

"Please, can't we have one conversation that does not involve Draco," Cissy shouted.

"Sorry Cissy," I responded. I glanced back up at the banners. Only one house was missing-the Slytherin Serpent. I sighed and glanced back up at John. Henry took a seat beside him.

"Halloween is coming up," Henry Beause chimed in.

"I can hardly wait for the feast," Cissy said. "Oh, I just hope there aren't any trolls this time."

"That was taken care of because of Harry and Ron," I told her.

"And Hermione," Rema added. "She was there to."

"Do you remember the dares and challenges we did afterwards? I thought we were going to lose you to that Whomping Willow Tree," Henry said.

"I remember the Forbidden Forest," Cissy said. "The first and only time we all got detention."

"No, there was that time we went after Jean's pet," I corrected her. "I just don't want to see that three headed dog again," I shuddered at the memory. I glanced down at my right hand. The dog had landed on it and broken it last year.

The door suddenly opened. Jean Reign walked inside with Keci Thomas and Stuart Campbell. The rest of us just gawked at their entrance. Jean smiled and walked over to the radio. She turned it to one of her usual favorite stations.

"Hi Stuart and Keci," Rema said with a smile. "Please have a seat."

They quietly took seats around the table. They were both shy but it didn't bother me.

"So, what shall we do this year?" Cissy asked.

I bit my bottom lip. I wasn't about to tell them about the jaguar's head I found. I had heard voices inside. People were in there and probably wouldn't want to be disturbed.

"I think we should let the adventure find us this time," John said. "It did last year."

"You wouldn't know about this Stuart," Rema told him.

"You would have loved it!" Henry said. "We were chased by vampires."

"I didn't think it was that great," Cissy said.

"You're just saying that because you were kidnapped," Henry retorted.

"No, I am not," Cissy said angrily.

"Well," Rema began", I don't think there's such a thing as a normal year at Hogwart's."

"Doesn't seem to be," I muttered to myself.

We continued to visit the abandoned classroom. October finally arrived to fullfil our excitement. Henry kept telling Stuart about last year's Halloween feast. I could tell that he was making Stuart nervous; mostly about the troll part. I kept my distance from Draco. I figured that if he didn't want to be my friend then there was no point in prolonging the inevitable. Several of the students and teachers had gotten sick. Jean had gotten sick and passed it on to Stuart, Keci, and Cissy. Mme. Pomfrey gave them Pepperup potion. It cured them instantly.

I used the spell that Ms. McGonagall showed me to keep warm. I had gotten used to constant rain. I would often run outside and try to dance in it. In Arizona it rarely rained so I was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Several of the students thought I was weird for doing so. The only thing I didn't like about dancing in the rain was that I always got muddy. I always had to take a shower afterwards. One night I saw Nearly Headless Nick send off a letter, but didn't bother to ask him about it.

"Come on," Jean said excitedly. "You don't want to be late do you?"

Jean was pulling me forward. The Halloween feast was about to begin. I fell behind practicing a few spells. I had gotten better, but I didn't think I was at the best of my skill just yet. I sent Cissy ahead of me. Jean came back for me and refused to leave without me. She pulled me off the bed and down towards the Great Hall. It was decorated with live bats, Hagrid's carved pumpkins, and the table was filled with tasty foods. I took my seat beside Cissy and Jean sat on my other side. I watched the dancing skeletons with great amusement.

"They're pretty good aren't they?" Cissy asked me.

I watched them finish the waltz dance, and begin the tango. "I think they're amazing," I replied. I applauded and cheered with the rest of the student body.

Once the feast ended the skeletons gave their bows. There was a loud applause for their talents. I grabbed a few pastries to snack on later. We got up and were each heading to our dormitories. Jean talked my, and Cissy's, ears off about how much fun she had. I shouldn't have let her eat so much candy tonight. We made our way up the stairs then stopped suddenly.

My mouth dropped slightly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing in front of a large wall. On the wall was written 'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.' It was written in blood and will visible from the fire of the torches. I saw Mrs. Norris hanging by her tail under one of the torch brackets. The rest of the student body also came across the sight and froze in shock.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next mudbloods!" Draco suddenly shouted.

It snapped me back into reality. I closed my mouth and shook my head. The image was still there. Draco was grinning at the sight. I wasn't sure how he was getting joy out of this.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Argus Filch shouted. He pushed his way through the student body to see what was happening. The reaction of Filch frightened me. It was the only time I had truly been afraid of someone. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" Filch demanded. He turned his attention to Harry. "You!" He screeched in fury. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-"

I took a step back from them.

"Argus!" Dumbledore shouted. He walked swiftly towards Argus. "Come with me, Argus," he told Filch. I had to admire his way of handling these types of situations. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger," Dumbledore told them.

Lockhart eagerly stepped forward. "My office is nearest, Headmaster-just upstairs-please feel free-"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," Dumbledore cut him off.

I, and several of the other student body, moved out of their way. I watched them walk past me. Lockhart, Mcgonagall, and Snape followed behind them. I didn't feel much like going to bed now that I had seen this. The House Prefects took over and guided students to their dormitories.

"I can't believe that just happened," Cissy said stunned.

"Why would Harry do that to Mrs. Norris?" I asked.

"What makes you think it was Harry?" Cissy asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Who else could have done it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Cissy took a seat on my bed. "Last year Harry defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and now he's come back for revenge. Trust me I don't think Harry's the type to do something like that to anyone."

"Harry had already defeated him last year. How could he come back to get revenge this year?" I asked.

"I don't know and I don't care," Cissy responded. "Who else would do such a thing to Mrs. Norris?"

"Marina," I heard someone say. "Marina, are you there?"

I lifted my bag and searched through for a few seconds. I pulled out the mirror that Rema had given us over the summer. "John," I responded. His face was in the mirror. "I'm here."

"Are you okay?" John asked.

"I think so. Why?"

"Well, I wasn't sure. I heard what Draco said. I wasn't sure how you would feel?"

"I'm all right. I don't think he meant it. It was probably just-"

"Oh grow up Marina," Cissy said frustrated. "When are you going to learn that he's not perfect! If he really wanted to be your friend then he would be your friend. Just get over it already."

"Well," John interrupted", if you ever need to talk I'm always available."

"Thanks," I responded. The mirror went blank once again.

A few days later hadn't changed the situation. Filch continued to pace the spot where Mrs. Norris was hung by her tail. Filch had tried to remove the bloody message, but nothing worked. The thing I hated most about the situation was that I had never gotten so much detention before. Filch told me 'I was looking too happy' or 'you're breathing too loudly' among other idiotic excuses. I tried to avoid him but he always managed to find me. The student body gossiped about nothing else. Cissy made sure I knew every detail of everyone's theories.

Life still continued on, in one form or another. The teachers made sure we had plenty of homework to occupy our time. I just barely finished my History of Magic Homework before the class started. I always had trouble with essays. Professor Binns appeared through the chalk board. He took out his notes and began his lecture. I felt myself about to snooze when Hermione raised her hand in the air.

"Miss-er-?" He asked.

This had been the only class where Hermione didn't have her hand up every ten seconds. I still needed to make friends her. Who else was going to help me pass another year at Hogwarts?

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets."

I blinked myself awake. I was suddenly interested in the class. I waited for his response.

"My subject is History of Magic," he replied in his usual wheezy voice. "I deal with _facts_, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." He cleared his throat to go back to his lesson. "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers-"

Hermione raised her hand in the air once again. Mr. Binns stopped his lecture again.

"Miss Grant?"

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

Mr. Binns just stared at her in amazement. He probably wasn't used to being interrupted in the middle of a lecture.

"Well," he began", yes, one could argue that, I suppose." He stared at her curiously. "However, the legend which you speak is such a very _sensational_, even_ ludicrous_ tale-"He paused staring at the students in his classroom. For the first time everyone's faces were staring straight at him. "Oh, very well," he went on.

"Let me see…the Chamber of Secrets…" he paused trying to remember. " You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago-the precise date is uncertain-by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.'

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school.'

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he went on. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.'

"Slytherin, according to legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

The room was filled with an eerie silence. Professor Binns paused and stared at the curious students. I don't know what the others were waiting for, but I wanted to hear more.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," Binns said bitterly. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione shot her hand back into the air. "Sir-what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," he responded.

I felt the sides of my mouth curl. This was really starting to get interesting.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," he said angrily. "There is no Chamber and no monster." He began shuffling through his notes.

"But, sir," Seamus interrupted. "if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?"

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty," he said aggravated. "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmaster and headmistresses haven't found the thing-"

"But, Professor," Cissy began", you'd probably have to use Dark Magic to open it-"

"Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather," Binns snapped. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore-"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't-" one of the boys began.

"That will do," he spat. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable _fact_!"

It didn't take me too much longer to get bored out of my skull again. We went to our usual classes and then eat dinner. Cissy had found something new to talk about-the Chamber of Secrets. She was now gloating about how He-Who-Must-Be-Named's heir. She came to the conclusion that his heir, whoever it was, had opened the chamber to get revenge. I had to admit it did fit with the clues in some strange way, but I tried to ignore her all the same.


End file.
